A processing device may read data from memory to execute instructions. Data in memory may be accessed multiple times in near succession requiring multiple reads of the same data. Once data is accessed a first time, the data may be cached to maintain a copy of the data for faster accessibility by the processing device, removing the cost of performing multiple reads from memory.
A processor cache is a hardware cache used by the processor of a computer to reduce the average time and/or energy to access data from main memory. A cache may be a smaller, faster memory, which stores copies of the data from frequently used main memory locations. A processor may be associated with different levels of cache. One such level may be a last level cache (LLC). In one embodiment, a last level cache may be shared among one or more processors, and may be accessed just before resorting to accessing main memory.